


hot sun, fever hot

by carefulren



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Beach fic, College AU, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Sick Keith (Voltron), Sickfic, birthday fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-03-04 03:57:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13356003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carefulren/pseuds/carefulren
Summary: After finals, the core five go to the beach to celebrate, and Keith goes because he's fine-ish..He's not fine.





	hot sun, fever hot

Finals week had been tough for the core five, with each studying their asses off to ensure they passed their classes. Even Pidge had been stowed away in the library for extended hours at a time thanks to an advanced Science course threatening to kick her ass.

While everyone had spent daytime hours studying, Keith was forced to spend sleepless nights hovering over textbooks thanks to a part-time job that had no appreciation for the fact that he’s a Junior in college.

With the school year finally finished, Keith figures he maybe got around twenty hours of sleep during the past week, and he’d be lying if he said he isn’t beginning to feel the effects. There’s a dull ache clinging to his limbs and pushing into a deep throb along his back, and a headache has blossomed from his temples and spread around to thump against every inch of his forehead. His shoulders sag against the weight of exhaustion, and his throat is beginning to feel slightly scratchy, not enough to warrant too much concern at the moment but still enough to be a pest.  

Sleep is his remedy, and he could tell the others that he’s not going to go with them to the beach, but it’s tradition. The group goes every year after finals, and he’s not one to break tradition. Besides, Lance would fuss over him instead of going as well, so Keith knows that sucking it up will be in the best interest of everyone for now.

He’s just zipping up his beach bag when a sharp chill shoots up his spine. He shudders with a frown, and the tensed movement is enough to draw Lance’s attention from where he’s leaned against the wall thumbing away at his phone.

“You okay?” Lance asks as he pockets his phone and moves toward Keith. He places one gentle hand to Keith’s back, and Keith nods without meeting the brunet’s eyes.

“Just a cold chill from the AC,” Keith lies as he suppresses another shiver that has his brows knitting together. He keeps his tone cool and causal as he fiddles with the handles of his beach bag, but years of dating Lance have taught him that he’s not very good at keeping things from the brunet.

In only seconds, Lance is in front of him and cupping his chin to pull his face up. Keith reluctantly drags his gaze up to meet Lance’s, and he does his best not to shy away from Lance’s focused stare.

“Are you okay?” Lance repeats, voice gentle yet holding a trace of demand that has Keith nodding before his lips find words.

“I’m okay, just tired. Nothing relaxing on the beach won’t fix.” The lie comes with a slight tug of his heart, but it’s still not enough to brush aside Lance’s unyielding concern. The brunet flips his hand and slides the backs of his fingers across Keith’s cheek with a focused look that gives way to a deep frown.

“You’re a little warm.”

“Lance,” Keith breathes out along a sigh. He wraps strong fingers around Lance’s wrist and pulls the brunet’s hand away from his face before weaving their fingers together. “I’m okay. I promise.” The outright lie hurts this time; his heart pangs uncomfortably within his chest, and it plummets when the concern etched across Lance’s face washes away to a soft smile.

“You’re sure?” Lance asks, voice mirroring the hesitance in his stance.

“Of course,” Keith says before leaning forward to brush a feather light kiss to Lance’s cheek. After, he steps away to grab his bag and drives the direction of the conversation toward a new center focus. “Are you ready? You know how Hunk gets when we take too long.”

“I’m ready,” Lance says, soft smile moving up to a wide grin that has Keith momentarily forgetting his ailments in favor of falling head over heels for the brunet before him.

*****

The sand underneath Keith’s feet should feel hot, burning even, but he can’t help but silently relish in the warmth for his feet feel like he’s barely balancing on two icicles. The cold of his feet extends up his legs and arms, seemingly seeping into his bones. His muscles yearn to shiver in a poor attempt to retain warmth, but he’s with everyone now; he would be caught in a heartbeat if he started shivering under the rays of a bright, shining sun.

The walk across the beach is leeching what little energy he’s desperately clinging to, but after what feels like an endless amount of time, the group agrees on a spot and begins to set up their beach umbrellas and towels. It’s a hasty process that only takes two minutes, and after, Lance is ripping his shirt off with a smile so bright it could compete with the sun.

“I don’t know about you guys, but my muscles could use some stretching out in the water after Hell Week.”

“You’re telling me,” Shiro breathes out as he slips his shirt over his head, and the others don’t miss the muffled gasps coming from a group of girls seated not far from them.

“Do you always have to show off?” Hunk asks as he shoots a piercing gaze across Shiro’s toned chest. “Jesus, have you been working out more? You look more muscular than usual.”

Shiro glances down with a frown before prodding at his abs. “Not really. Clinicals just have me running my ass off. And, I’m not showing off. Why would I swim with a shirt on?” His voice holds a hint of sincere innocence that has Pidge rolling her eyes as she pulls at her tankini for last minute adjustments before heading out toward the water.

“Everyone knows you are showing off, Shiro. Shut up,” Pidge calls over her shoulder before jogging into the water, and Shiro scoffs in annoyance but follows suit with Hunk and Lance hot on his heels.

Keith watches fondly, ailments temporarily forgotten until Lance is suddenly jogging back toward him with a frown.

“You coming?”

Keith fiddles with the hem of his shirt before dragging it up and over his head. He drops it to the side just as the same group of girls gasps quietly, but not quite quiet enough for Lance’s ears.

Lance steps forward and plants a firm kiss to Keith’s lips then winks at the group of girls before he laces his fingers together with Keith’s to pull the latter toward the water, and Keith rolls his eyes at the hushed squeals from the group of girls as he moves with Lance.

The second Keith’s foot touches the water, he sucks in a sharp hiss through clenched teeth. The water feels like ice lapping against his feet, and he jerks his hand away from Lance so the brunet won’t feel the tremors breaking through. Luckily, Lance doesn’t pick up on the sudden tension because he’s already darting to the left to snatch a beach ball before Hunk can get to it.

For a moment, Keith is frozen in his spot. His muscles are already screaming in pain as strong shivers course up and down his arms and legs, and the sudden tension only heightens his headache until it’s pushing hard against his squinting eyes. He’s already half-through working out an excuse as to why he’s not going to go into the water when he’s being lifted in the air and thrown over Shiro’s shoulder.

“Shiro, what the fuck?” He spits out just as the older boy wades into the water until it’s up to his waist.

“You looked like you needed a push,” Shiro says through a laugh, and next thing Keith knows, he’s falling.

He hits the water with a loud smack then sinks down with a strangled gasp. Water rushes into his mouth and bubbles up toward the surface. His muscles go tight from the icy chill of the water, and he winces as his skin prickles uncomfortably from the cold. It’s a struggle, but he kicks his legs and propels himself up until he’s breaking surface with a loud gasp followed by harsh coughs.

“You asshole,” he hisses out through clenched teeth once his coughing tampers off. He can mask his shivering under the water for the most part, but he’s forced to keep his teeth clamped tightly together to keep them chattering.

“Shiro, what did you do to my boyfriend?” Lance asks, voice amused, as he swims toward the two.

“I carried him over my shoulder and tossed him in,” Shiro admits with not even the slightest ounce of regret in his tone, and Lance barks out a laugh at this that attracts Hunk and Pidge’s attention.

The two swim over, and with all five together, they begin planning out what games to play. Keith tries to listen, but he’s having trouble hearing past his heart pounding loudly in his ears. His entire body feels as if it’s burning with a numbing sheet of ice coating it, and the pounding in his head is matching the speed of his rapid heart.

-ith? Keith?”

Keith is pulled from his thoughts when Pidge waves her hand in front of his face. He shoots the girl a weak smile before quirking his head to the side as a silent invitation for her to speak.

“We were asking what water volleyball team you want on?”

Blinking back a faint haziness coating his vision, Keith glances toward the others before stopping on the slight frown tugging at Lance’s lips. “Let me go grab something to eat then I want on Lance’s team,” he manages out against a wavering voice before forcing tense muscles to swim with the water back toward the beach. When he passes Lance, he drops a hand to Lance’s shoulder as a silent reassurance that he’s okay before he continues toward the beach.

“Hurry back!”

Keith offers a wave over his shoulder at Hunk’s words before he’s in shallow enough water to where he can walk back toward the shore. When he’s sure that he’s a safe distance away, he wraps shaking arms around his shivering frame and stumbles back toward their little area. He snatches up a dry towel before opting to flop down onto a patch of sand right under the umbrella they have set up.

His hands are trembling hard as he wraps the dry towel around his shoulders. It barely does anything to help with the deep-set shivers wracking his frame, so he pulls his knees to his chest and drops his forehead against one knee, making himself an impossibly small cocoon of warmth.

He doesn’t mean to fall asleep, but exhaustion settles as a heavy weight over his shoulders and he drifts off, only to be pulled awake by Shiro’s voice pushing through his sleep-riddled mind.

“-ance told us to take it easy on you because you’re tired. He said you’ve been pulling a lot of all-nighters because of finals.”

Keith’s head feels like a thousand pounds, but he manages to lift it up at the sound of Shiro’s voice. His vision is swimming, and he blinks slowly to clear it enough to see Shiro’s back to him as the older boy rifles through the cooler for a drink.

“I’m sure with work, and…” Shiro’s voice trails off as he turns to face Keith, and the water bottle slips from his hand as he sucks in a sharp gasp at the sight. Keith’s face is flushed a crimson red that stands out horribly against ghostly pale skin, and Shiro is dropping to his knees in front of Keith in a heartbeat.

“Shiro-” Keith tries, only to be cut off by a frantic hand brushing his damp bangs back before smoothing against his forehead. Keith shivers at the cool touch just as Shiro mutters out a hushed string of curses.

“You are fucking burning,” Shiro hisses out before turning to glance over his shoulder. “Lance!” He shouts, voice sharp and piercing along a color of concern that leaves Keith wincing and trying to physically pull away.

“Wait, I’m okay,” Keith presses, but when he tries to stand, the ground beneath his feet tilts, and he’s moving with it until he’s collapsing against Shiro’s strong chest just as Lance jogs up to them with Hunk and Pidge hot on his heels.

“What’s wrong?” Lance questions quickly as his eyes dart between Keith and Shiro. “Keith…?”

“He’s running a really high fever,” Shiro says as he eases Keith back onto the ground, and Lance’s face crumples into concern as he drops to his knees beside Keith.

Lance presses one hand to Keith’s cheek, only to jerk it back at the alarming heat. “You promised you were okay,” Lance mutters with a cracking voice as his hands hover over Keith’s trembling frame to mirror his uncertainty on what to do.

Pain washes across Keith’s face. He’s never liked seeing Lance sad, and he opens his mouth to reassure the brunet that he’s fine, but instead of a lie, the truth bleeds out through his weak tone. “I guess I’m not as okay as I thought.”

The group falls silent at this, none having ever heard Keith willingly admit to not being okay, and Lance is the first to break the silence with a strangled “Shiro.”

“It’s okay,” Shiro says as he begins quickly packing. “He’ll be okay, Lance.” He turns toward Hunk and Pidge in silent request to help, and the two oblige and begin gathering their things.

Keith wants to say something, anything to wipe the worry clinging to his friends and to Lance, but his words fall on silent lips. He has nothing he could say right now that would ease their worries any less, so he does the one thing that he really wants to do. He twists his body and buries his face into Lance’s chest, groaning out a breath of relief when Lance wraps steady arms around his trembling body.

“Shiro,” Lance presses with a wavering voice, and Shiro’s heart threatens to leap up his throat when he spares a glance to see Keith all but collapsed against Lance. Luckily, he, Pidge, and Hunk are just finishing with the packing, and he motions for Lance to stand with Keith.

Keith moves to his feet when Lance does, but his legs buckle underneath the weight of his fever. He clings to Lance’s arms, but moments later, he’s being slowly lifted into Shiro’s arms.

“You got him?” Lance asks with a trembling voice, and Shiro nods before motioning toward Pidge and Hunk with his chin.

“Help them get the stuff, and get my keys out.”

Lance nods before grabbing some of the heavier bags from Pidge. He fishes around in one bag for Shiro’s keys as he, Hunk, and Pidge follow after Shiro, who is moving along a swift walk across the beach with Keith cradled tightly to his chest.

When they reach the car, they fall silent as they work quickly to get everything packed away. Keith’s heart is swelling with a deep-set guilt, yet he can’t find the right words to remedy the situation. He wants to, but his mind is a hazy mess of throbbing and jumbled letters, and everything about him begins to shift into slow motion until he’s being nudged toward the middle seat in the back row of Shiro’s truck. He moves to the small seat, and moments later, he’s being crushed by Lance and Hunk’s steady, grounded warmth at either side of him.

Hunk drapes one arm around his shoulders and rubs up and down his arm to combat his shivers just as Lance places a trembling hand to his leg. Keith frowns at the tremors coursing through Lance’s fingers, and he drags his gaze slowly to Lance’s tense face.

“Lance-”

“Don’t,” Lance says before breathing out a deep breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. “I know you want to apologize, but the only thing I want right now is for you to be okay.”

Keith’s shoulder slump down, and he nods before placing one icy hand over Lance’s. “I love you,” he says instead of the apology or testament that he will be fine hot on his tongue. His words come out slightly slurred, but Lance still picks up on every word and wordlessly flips his hand to intertwine his fingers with Keith.

“I’ll tell you I love you back when you are better.”

“He’ll be okay,” Shiro says, shooting one glance toward the rearview mirror before pulling his gaze back to the road.

“Yeah,” Pidge agrees from her spot in the passenger seat. “He’s an idiot, but he’ll be okay.”

“You know how strong he is, Lance. He’ll be just fine.” Hunk adds, giving Keith’s shoulders a tight squeeze.

Keith nods along with their words, but Lance only shakes his head and tightens his grip in Keith’s hands. He turns a slow gaze toward Keith.

“You better be.”

**Author's Note:**

> I am SUPER behind on posting my Tumblr prompt fills on here. I could have put this one with my VLD Whump Series, but this is one I actually like and am proud of, so I'm making it a stand alone. 
> 
> It was written as a birthday fic for an absolutely amazing friend. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy!


End file.
